THE JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICAL INSTITUTIONSPancreas Cancer Web

MARSHA

My wonderful loving husband, Stanley, was dx with pc on Oct. 23, 1997 at the
age of 64. In the month before seeing his doctor he'd experienced weight
loss, dark urine, light stool, and jaundice. His doctor told us something
was blocking the common bile duct and sent Stanley for a CT scan. The scan
showed " a mass on the pancreas". The gastroenterologist he was
referred to said his only hope was the Whipple at JH. Even though we live in
DC with lots of hospitals and good doctors, he was told to have this surgery
done at JH. Less than 48 hours later, Stanley was admitted and a stent put
in and tests done to determine if he was a candidate for the Whipple. All
tests indicated yes so surgery was scheduled for Nov. 24. When we were told
after less than 3 hours that the surgeon wanted to talk with us, I knew. The
tumor involved the head, neck, and body of the pancreas and mesenteric artery
and was therefore unresectable. Stanley's gall bladder was removed, a pain
block and bypass done, and he made plans to undergo radiation and chemo with
5FU. He recovered well from the surgery but a week after being discharged,
his ankes started swelling and the swelling quickly moved up his body. On
Dec. 28 he was re-admitted to JH to get this under control. Another CT scan
was done, an ultra sound on his legs to check for clots, etc. The pc was
worse--radiation no longer an option, so he started gemzar the following
night. A diuretic solved the swelling problem and he had only minor side
effects from the gemzar. We'd drive to Baltimore, have his blood work done,
meet with his onc or his nurse, have chemo, go out for a good lunch, and come
home. During this time, Stanley became more and more fatigued and lost his
appetite. After the first cycle of gemzar, another CT scan showed that it
wasn't working. Stanley was so weak by then than another type of chemo
wasn't an option. We investigated vaccine trials but he didn't meet the
criteria. He actually improved some after this as the effects of the gemzar
wore off. His appetite returned but he was never able to gain back any
weight.It was wonderful cooking for him again as he was enjoying his food and
requesting many of his favorites. During his illness, we celebrated our 16th
wedding anniversary, took 3 trips to our second home in NC, and tried to do
things that we both enjoyed. Stanley also devoted much of his time and energy
to making sure I could handle the responsiblity of our home, finances, etc.
I didn't realize at the time just how much he was doing for me! Stanley's
main goal was reaching his 65th birthday which he did on March 13. The
following week was wonderful--he had so much energy! His sense of humor,
which he never lost, was back in full force! Everyone he saw remarked on how
well he looked. This week was probably the miracle I'd been praying for! At
the end of that week, he started going downhill very rapidly. He again lost
his appetite and couldn't eat anything solid and started having some pain.
He died on April 1, 1998. He wasn't able to talk much that final morning but
did understood and respond to what was said to him. Moments before he died
he gave me the strongest most wonderful hug --something I'll never forget! I
will always be grateful for the years we had together and I will miss him and
love him always.

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